Alleged kidnapper’s lawyers move to delay trial

Brendt Christensen’s lawyers have filed a motion in court to delay the trial in order to investigate reported sightings of Yingying Zhang, whose body has yet to be found.

Christensen is accused of kidnapping Zhang in June 2017. The FBI presumes she is dead.

Christensen’s defense aims to delay the trial until next October to investigate possible sightings of Zhang “across the country” and to investigate “suspicious individuals” who had been lurking around Zhang’s apartment on the day of or the day before she disappeared.

Prosecutors had agreed to a delay only if Attorney General Jeff Sessions decides to seek the death penalty, but the defense is arguing for a delay either way due to these new developments. Sessions is seeking the death penalty against Christensen.

Christensen is currently set to go to trial on Feb. 27 in front of U.S. District Judge Colin Bruce.

The Court has until Feb. 2 to decide whether or not the trial will be delayed.